Coach Ruffin says: “We’ve got some returners, but we’ve also got a lot of guys that don’t have varsity experience and we’ve got four sophomores that are up on varsity that are getting a lot of minutes. I’ve been happy to see, in practice and our first scrimmage, our senior leadership that we’ve got this year with our seniors for those sophomores to look up to as they transition into a new speed of the game.”

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Wylie's Steven Lopez (10) runs the ball down the court during the second quarter of the Bulldogs' 92-45 win on Friday, Jan. 20, 2016, at Wylie High School. (Photo: Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News)

Notes: There is plenty of senior leadership on this year’s Bulldogs team with eight seniors suiting up for Ruffin. Isenhower, Lopez and Roberts are joined by Thomas Lynch, Sam King and Ryan Hamar as the experienced members of the team. This year’s group has some height to it, “We’ve got a sophomore Austin Brewer who’s 6-8, Kyle is 6-7, Dylan is 6-6 so we’re going to have some size. That’s something we’re going to try to use to our advantage,” Ruffin said. ... But Wylie also has some solid guard play with the ability to handle the ball, drive and hit outside shots. That will make the Bulldogs difficult to defend. “I think that allows us to be multi-faceted," Ruffin said. "If you’re worried about people driving or throwing inside to double, we’re going to have that ability to make the outside shots.” ... Isenhower will be the catalyst for the team this season. After showing his ability last year, he’s taken it up another level in his final high school season. “He had a really good summer playing,” Ruffin said. “From what I’ve seen, he’s taken his game to the next level. He’s one of those players for us who can make a difference on the court, but he’s not a selfish player.” ... As for this season, coming off a disappointing end to last year’s campaign, Wylie will not overlook anything or anyone. Whether it is nondistrict, tournament play or District 5-4A competition, the Bulldogs want to stay focused on each game as it comes. “The end of last season, it left a bad taste in our mouths,” Ruffin said. “These guys that are returning, they don’t want to feel that again as far as how we ended in the second round of the playoffs because we felt like we were a better team than going out that early. We lost to a good team, but we don’t feel like we played our best. So, those guys have been very motivated to work hard. We’ve talked about it, this team is not going to sit there and look ahead. This team is going to take it one game at a time."